It
adds that if contraceptive needs were met and all pregnant women and their
newborns received the basic standards of care recommended by the World Health
Organization (WHO):

The
number of women dying from pregnancy-related issues would drop by two-thirds;
from 290,000 to 96,000; neonatal deaths would fall by more than three-fourths
from 2.9 million to 660,000; and transmission of HIV from mothers to newborns
would nearly be eliminated.

Basic
Package of Services

The
study has recommended a basic package of services to all women and this package
includes: contraceptive services, pregnancy and newborn care, services for pregnant women
living with HIV, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the
virus, and treatment for four other sexually transmitted infections.

Annual
Cost Varies by Region

Providing
this package to women each year is an affordable goal, and it would cost only
$25 per woman and roughly double the current level of spending. But, the
average annual cost of providing a woman with the needed health care varies
widely by region.

In
Latin America and the Caribbean, the average annual cost would be $31, compared
with $14 per woman in Asia. The cost would be considerably higher - $76 per
woman - in Sub-Saharan Africa, the sub-region with the greatest need for
services and where health care services are generally weakest.

Researchers
Observation

Providing
all women with the health care they need would also be cost-effective.
According to the researchers, for every additional dollar invested in
contraceptive services, $1.47 is saved in maternal and newborn health care.

"This
report is an urgent call to action for increased investments in sexual and
reproductive health services, including family planning. These investments save
lives, empower women and girls, strengthen health systems and have a profound
and lasting impact on development," said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin,
Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA).

"If we continue to
under-invest in basic sexual and reproductive health services, we will be missing out on a tremendous opportunity to
save lives and ultimately to build stronger
nations," said Ann Starrs, President and CEO of the
Guttmacher Institute.

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